Time rules: act after hours or days

Create a time rule

1. Open Settings > Automation and click Create Automation.
2. Enter a Name, for example "Follow up after 2 days".
3. Pick the Event trigger Time Passed. The Timer appears below it.
4. Set the timer: Time since the last activity, the status change or creation is more than a number of hours or days.
5. Add conditions, for example Status is Pending, and the actions.
6. Leave Active switched on and click Create.

A time rule runs on no message, so it cannot check Message Type or Content. Every other condition and action of an automation rule works.

What the timer measures

• the last activity: when something last happened in the conversation, such as a message from the customer, your team or the bot. A message the rule sends itself does not start the time over.
• the status change: when the conversation got the status it has now.
• creation: when the conversation or the ticket was created.

The timer takes whole hours or days, from 1 hour to 365 days. A day counts as 24 hours, and nights and weekends count too: the timer does not follow business hours.

When a time rule runs

• Deskwoot checks every 5 minutes, and only open and pending conversations. Snoozed and resolved conversations are never checked.
• The rule acts once on a conversation. It acts again only after the time it measures starts over, for example when the customer writes again or the status changes again.
• A new rule acts at once on every conversation that already qualifies, oldest first. In one check it acts on up to 200 conversations, and the rest follow in the next checks.
• If the conversation changes its status while the rule acts, for example because the customer replies, the rule's own status change leaves it as it is.
• Conversations you imported from another tool are left out until the customer writes again or someone answers in Deskwoot.

Examples you can copy

Follow up when the customer goes quiet

• Timer: Time since the status change is more than 2 days
• Condition: Status is Pending
• Action: Send Message "Just checking in: did our last answer help, or do you need anything else?"

Resolve conversations that stayed quiet

• Timer: Time since the status change is more than 7 days
• Condition: Status is Pending
• Action: Change Status to Resolved

For resolving every inactive conversation, you do not need a rule: auto resolve under Settings > Conversation Workflows does it for the whole workspace or per inbox.

Remind the assignee

• Timer: Time since the last activity is more than 24 hours
• Condition: Status is Open
• Action: Add Private Note "This conversation has waited a day for us." with Notify the assignee

Tickets that sit too long

• Timer: Time since creation is more than 3 days
• Conditions: Type is Ticket and Status is Open
• Actions: Change Priority to High and Add Internal Comment with Notify the team

Time rules and tickets

Like every rule, a time rule runs on tickets only with the condition Type is Ticket, which you see while tickets are switched on. A ticket is checked while it is Open or Pending. A rule for tickets never sends anything to the customer, so it has no Send Message or Send Email.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my new time rule act on so many conversations at once?

A new time rule acts on every open and pending conversation that already qualifies. Start with narrow conditions, for example a label or one inbox, and widen them once the rule does what you want.

Will a time rule send the same message again and again?

No. It acts once on a conversation and waits until the time it measures starts over. The message the rule sends itself does not start the time over.

Does the timer skip nights, weekends or business hours?

No. It counts every hour since the moment it measures from.

How exact is the timing?

Deskwoot checks every 5 minutes, so a rule acts within about 5 minutes after the time is up. When more than 200 conversations qualify at the same moment, the rest follow in the next checks.

Can a time rule look at snoozed or resolved conversations?

No. Time rules only check open and pending conversations. A snoozed conversation is checked again once it wakes up and is open.

Which plans include time rules?

Startup, Business and Enterprise, like every automation rule. Time rules for tickets need tickets, which come with the Enterprise plan.